Wastewater Operator Trainee - Environmental Services Department

City of San Jose • San Jose - Santa Clara Regional Wastewater Facility, CA

1d • Onsite

About The Position

The Environmental Services Department (ESD) is seeking to fill multiple full-time Wastewater Operator Trainee vacancies at the San José - Santa Clara Regional Wastewater Facility (RWF). The RWF is one of the largest advanced wastewater treatment facilities in the nation, treating water for over 1.4 million people across several cities and unincorporated areas in Santa Clara County. ESD is a national leader in pollution prevention, watershed protection, utility service provision, and climate action, offering a supportive leadership team, professional growth opportunities, and an inclusive workplace culture. This entry-level position is part of the Wastewater Operations and Management Division and provides on-the-job training through an Operator Trainee program, with opportunities for promotion within the Wastewater Operator series.

Requirements

• Completion of High School or equivalent training and experience.
• No prior experience required.
• Possession of a valid California Water Resources Control Board Operator in Training Certificate must be obtained within the probation period.
• Possession of a valid State of California Class C driver's license.
• Pre-employment respiratory physical exam.
• Demonstrates knowledge of and experience with applicable professional/technical principles and practices, Citywide and departmental procedures/policies and federal and state rules and regulations.
• Ability to follow oral and written instructions.
• Knowledge of and the ability to effectively use common hand tools.
• Knowledge of basic mechanical concepts.
• Experienced with common business computer applications including but not limited to: MS Outlook, MS Word, MS PowerPoint, MS Access, and MS Excel.

Nice To Haves

• Mechanical aptitude.
• Math skills.
• Good interpersonal skills.
• Willingness to work in different shifts.
• Successful completion of college-level math courses.
• Successful completion of college-level science courses.
• Successful completion of wastewater treatment coursework.

Responsibilities

• Works closely with higher-level facility operation personnel to learn the various aspects of the wastewater treatment process and control operations.
• Learns basic operation of the distributed control computer system to locate trends, graphics, and single points and make process or control changes.
• Takes samples of wastewater throughout the treatment process to perform simple tests for process control.
• Learns to read and interpret gauges and other control instrumentation.
• Recognizes and diagnoses alarms and other warning indications, and follows corrective procedures to maintain stable process control and meet government permit requirements.
• Participates in the operation and periodic maintenance of a variety of process equipment such as valves, sluice gates, pumps, blowers, samplers, dissolved oxygen sensors, suspended solids meters, chlorination/dichlorination and other wastewater analyzers and related equipment.

Benefits

• On-the-job training through an Operator Trainee program.
• Opportunity for promotion to Wastewater Operator through a qualifying promotional process.
• Veteran's Preference Policy applies.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: High school or GED